Democratic Party caucuses riddled with problems in Colorado
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The Democratic Party and its candidates are scrambling to assess the political damage after a busted online app and misinformation in recent weeks led to disenfranchised delegates at chaotic caucuses and assemblies.
Why it matters: Colorado's caucus process can make or break campaigns and serves as an early test of party support that can keep candidates off the primary ballot entirely.
How it works: Democrats held straw-poll votes at caucuses and assemblies over the past two weeks and assigned delegates to the state assembly, which happens in Pueblo next week.
- Those delegates represent votes for certain candidates, though some are uncommitted and not all of them are bound to stick to their assignments.
- To qualify for the ballot at the state assembly, a candidate needs 30% of the support from delegates.
Yes, but: How the votes were taken and tallied is disputed. Campaigns and delegates tell Axios Denver the Democratic Party's Airtable, a business workflow app used to keep the vote count, was overwhelmed and eventually crashed.
- In some cases, party activists waited hours to vote, while others went home and could not participate.
The intrigue: Now, a handful of high-profile candidates are below or just above the 30% threshold to make the primary election, according to unofficial numbers shared with Axios Denver by one of the campaigns.
- In Colorado's 1st Congressional District, 15-term U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette lost the overall vote to a progressive challenger, Melat Kiros, but DeGette's advisers say they are confident she will make the ballot.
- In the 4th District, Trisha Calvarese, the party's nominee in 2024, did not get 30%, her team told CPR.
- In the attorney general's race, Jena Griswold, the current secretary of state and perceived frontrunner, received 35.8% support while her rival David Seligman won the vote with 38%.
- In the secretary of state's race, state Sen. Jessie Danielson took 29.7% of the vote. Her opponent Amanda Gonzalez finished with 54%. Another 17% of delegates are uncommitted.
- In the treasurer's race, state Rep. Brianna Titone finished with 21% support, while state Sen. Jeff Bridges took 38%. Another 20% are uncommitted.
What they're saying: "The preference polls numbers are irrelevant at this point. I don't think they are 100% accurate. This could be because of flaws in the system, inaccurate display of candidates … or slow performance," Titone told Axios Denver.
Caveat: If candidates don't win the caucus, they can collect voter signatures on petitions due Wednesday. But if those candidates receive less than 10% of the caucus vote, they are disqualified.
The other side: This is the first time the Democratic Party has used an online system to tally delegates.
- Party chair Shad Murib acknowledged the frustration about voting delays but said the data set is "more accurate and complete than ever." He blamed the high turnout for the problems.